Shocking Facts

Here are some strange and shocking facts about children in India and all over the world:

With a population of over 1 billion, India is home to 400 million children, the largest number in any country in the world

One third of the world’s children living in poverty are in India

Health

A staggering 10,000 babies die every single day from easily preventable causes such as malnutrition and diarrhea.

More than 2 million babies die each year before they celebrate their first Birthday.

Every 6th girl-child’s death is due to gender discrimination, also known as female infanticide.

Over 10 million children go to sleep on the pavement each night hungry and unprotected.

Over 40% of children live in poverty and extreme hardship.

Education

Nearly half of India’s children are deprived of their fundamental right to education each Day.

A startling two-thirds of girl-children cannot read or write.

Exploitation of Children

India is home to the largest population of working children in the world with an estimated 111 million children struggling as child laborers - most often working in hazardous and degrading conditions, for an average of 12 hours a Day and earning extremely small wages.

The third largest crime in India after drugs and gun smuggling is child trafficking – over 45,000 children go missing each year.

Over 2 million children, mainly girls aged 5-15, are forced into prostitution and sexual slavery.

Each year 500,000+ children are forced into the sex trade with an annual increase of 10% Children are the future of a nation. Yet they have been neglected a lot in India, which is evident from the existence of infant mortality, child morbidity, child malnutrition, childhood disability, child abuse, child labor, child prostitution, street children, child beggary, child marriage, juvenile delinquency, drug addiction and illiteracy.

Childhood is the time when a person needs nurturing, schooling, time to play and explore the opportunity to grow both emotionally and physically. When a child is forced to work, it hampers his growth, stunts his psychological and intellectual development, and prevents him from realizing his full potential. Child labor is an unmitigated evil and any society which suffers from it should be grossly ashamed of it.

Child labor & trafficking are just symptoms. They are not the real problem. The problem lies elsewhere. Unless the root problem is countered, mere addressing of the symptom makes the situation immensely worse for the victimized children. In India, children’s vulnerabilities and exposure to violations of their protection rights remain spread and multiple in nature. There is a wide range of issues that adversely impact on children in India, making them especially vulnerable. With such future citizens in large numbers, the future of our country is bleak.

So, on this occasion of Children’s Day, please think. Are we worth celebrating a Children’s Day with the viral existence of such evil practices as child trafficking & child labor in our society?

Every citizen of the country should pledge and ensure that children around them are not forced to any sorts of exploitation. Little measures like getting a child educated, teaching children around you, being more active to the happenings around, can make a big difference in the current situation and condition of children in India.